March 2026 overview. Entries may use older estimates. A blank means no entry, not zero.
Select a disease to read its entry.
Guide and source notes
Guide to the Norn Group age-related disease spreadsheet
For research into aging biology to impact human lives, scientific discoveries must be linked to health outcomes. We can envision a future where biological health is measured and treated before diseases manifest. But for now we have neither assays that reliably measure biological age, nor a regulatory/reimbursement landscape that emphasizes disease prevention. In the meantime, clinical trials for drugs based on aging biology have to target existing indications recognized by the FDA - diseases like stroke, osteoporosis, or type 2 diabetes. Indication selection is an important problem for emerging longevity biotech companies: one that could determine the difference between a ‘false fail’ or success in the clinic.
What the spreadsheet is:
A resource summarizing preclinical and clinical information about common diseases whose incidence increases with age. For each disease, we cover biology (etiology, aging biology, preclinical and diagnostic measurements), epidemiology (age-specific incidence, prognosis), clinical landscape (standard of care treatments, clinical endpoints, clinical trial statistics), animal models (suitability of mice, other animal models) and market research (patient population, disease costs, lobbying strength).
We hope that this will be a useful overview of age-related diseases that could be the target of clinical trials for putative aging mechanisms. Beyond providing a launchpad for indication selection, this tool offers guidance on how to conduct human-relevant studies in model organisms.
What the spreadsheet is not:
* A definitive, error-free guide to each disease. Summarizing biology is hard. We’ve done our best to make accurate statements (and have validated each row with disease-specific experts), but in aiming at brevity, we’ve likely made some mistakes and over-simplifications. If you catch any, let us know here!
* A comprehensive list of every age-related disease. We’ve prioritized diseases with a substantial patient population and clear age-related incidence. Some diseases have not yet been added, and others would benefit from division into sub-indications. If you have suggestions about potential additions or sub-indications, tell us here.
* A document containing clinical recommendations. Please contact a physician if you are in need of clinical advice.
Ideas for improvement?
This is a living resource that will continue to improve with the addition of more diseases and details. If you have ideas or suggestions, let us know!
Some cells in the source sheet display one URL but link to a different page. Here, printed URLs open the URL shown. Affected entries flag that difference and retain the original link target in the source-data download. Citations have not been independently checked.
Original guide ↗ · Published overview ↗
Historical field definitions · 2022 workbook
These notes come from the original 2022 workbook. The March 2026 sheet has no cell notes, so these definitions are not confirmed for its revised entries.
Sub-indications
Some diseases split into sub-indications - this was prioritized according to the degree of differences between sub-types and patient population. Will continue to expand other indications into their subtypes.
Incidence
Per 100k person years, US if possible (else indicated as note). Sex-specific if possible. Minimal = < 1 per 100k person years
Aging biology strongly implicated
This aging biology is an important component of the disease's primary driver (>50% scientific community acceptance). Decent causation evidence exists. Addressing this aging biology is likely necessary to cure the disease. (Note: if multiple features listed, they are ordered alphabetically.)
Aging biology weakly implicated
There exists strong evidence that this process takes place, but the evidence is correlational and/or it is unclear if this process is very important to the disease. (Note: if multiple features listed, they are ordered alphabetically.)
Prognosis
Median survival, unless noted
Trial duration
* not just treatment time, but whole trial period including enrollment, etc.
Lower quartile, median and upper quartile of Actual Start Date - Actual Completion Date (divided by 30 ~days/month) calculated from trials (completed and with results, if enough listed) on clinicaltrials.gov. Some trials are listed under multiple phases - these were excluded from statistics when possible.
Trial enrollment
Lower quartile, median and upper quartile of number of enrolled people in trials (completed and with results, if enough listed) on clinicaltrials.gov. Limited quality filtering, so these figures likely underestimate the enrollment necessary for well powered studies.
Clinical pipeline date
last updated in August 2022
How well do mice model?
scale 1-4
1 Mice do not replicate most aspects of the disease as it occurs in humans.
2 Mice are not useless as models for this disease, but a big aspect of the disease as it occurs in humans is missing in mice.
3 Mice get this disease in a similar way to humans, but at least one thing is very different.
4 Mice get this disease. By primary endpoints the disease looks similar to that in humans.
Disease lobbying strength
Scale: 1-4
Rated by the annual revenue of the primary advocacy organization
1: <$50M
2: $50-200M
3: $200-500M
4: $500M+
Umbrella lobbying strength
Scale: 1-4
Rated by the annual revenue of the primary advocacy organization
1: <$50M
2: $50-200M
3: $200-500M
4: $500M+
Disease costs
Direct disease costs, excludes indirect costs like lost labor
